President
George W. Bush's pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor is Harvard grad and long time Washington insider John Roberts.
Most everyone agrees Roberts is a "safe" pick and will win easy
confirmation. Even Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is already on board.
Democratic opposition will no doubt be nothing more than ceremonial.
Conservatives are touting Roberts as a "strict constructionist" and are
proudly proclaiming that President Bush has "kept his word" to put a
conservative on the High Court.

However,
whether Roberts is a "conservative" or "strict constructionist" is yet
to be seen. All in all, we really know very little about John Roberts.
That fact alone has some conservatives worried.

Syndicated
columnist Ann Coulter recently wrote, "We don't know much about John
Roberts. Stealth candidates have never turned out to be a pleasant
surprise for conservatives. Never. Not ever. Oh yeah, we know he's
argued cases before the Supreme Court. Big deal! So has Larry Flynt's
attorney." Ann is right.

We
certainly cannot depend on Republican leaders, conservative
organizations, or even leaders of the Religious Right to tell us the
truth about this Supreme Court nominee or about any other decision made
by this president for that matter. You see, Bush is a Republican, and,
unfortunately, today's conservative leaders have become little more
than robotic cheerleaders for whomever the Republican president is that
happens to be in office at the time.

Many of
us can still remember when conservative leaders and spokesmen for the
Religious Right were hailing the nominations of Anthony Kennedy and
David Souter. So much for their allegiance to objective truth!

The
single most admired trait possessed by John Roberts is that he clerked
for Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. This might be a good
sign. It might not.

One
disturbing element on Roberts' record is the manner in which he
forthrightly disassociated himself from briefs which he helped write in
opposition to the Supreme Court Roe v Wade decision. He specifically
said that those briefs "do not necessarily reflect his views."

In
other words, Roberts said that just because he wrote an anti-Roe brief,
don't take that to mean that he personally subscribed to what he wrote.
If that isn't lawyer mumbo-jumbo, I don't know what is. One thing is
sure: Roberts' record on the subject is anything but certain! And, of
course, by all accounts, while President Bush quizzed his court
nominees at length regarding their personal fitness regimen, he never
broached the subject of the potential nominee's personal views on
abortion!

Furthermore,
in 2003, Roberts emphatically stated, "Roe v Wade is the settled law of
the land. There's nothing in my personal views that would prevent me
from fully and faithfully applying that precedent." Therefore, it seems
certain that John Roberts' presence on the U.S. Supreme Court will do
nothing to alter or abolish Roe v Wade.

The
fact that Roberts is a Harvard grad could also be a disturbing sign for
conservatives. Sadly, the once great institution founded for the
purpose of training Christian ministers has become an institution
epitomizing liberalism and social engineering. Then again, even Harvard
matriculates some committed conservatives (by complete accident, I'm
sure). Notables such as Howard Phillips, Edwin Vieira, Jr., Antonin
Scalia, William Rehnquist, and Alan Keyes come to mind.

Other
points of concern are that Roberts worked with the liberal
establishment law firm of Hogan & Hartson and the left-wing
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

The
fact is, we simply do not know enough about John Roberts to properly
assess his fidelity to constitutional government. His "settled law"
statement regarding Roe is the most decisive (and disturbing) element
to his resume, and that bodes ill, not well, for Roberts' future
performance on the High Court. That conservative leaders are fawning
over Roberts proves their total lack of serious study or commitment to
objective truth. But, there is nothing new about that.

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All of
us who are committed to constitutional government and to the importance
of overturning Roe v Wade would like to be hopeful regarding John
Roberts appointment. At this point, hope is about all we have to lean
on.

Chuck Baldwin is
Founder-Pastor of
Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was
recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and
influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively,
hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications
Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long
call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a
conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly
articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and
newspapers.

To learn more about his radio talk
show please visit his web site at: www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state.

In
other words, Roberts said that just because he wrote an anti-Roe brief,
don't take that to mean that he personally subscribed to what he wrote.
If that isn't lawyer mumbo-jumbo, I don't know what is.